Shreyas Iyer and Punjab Kings were inspired by KL Rahul’s 152 not out, the highest by an Indian in the IPL, to pull off a record chase on Saturday.

The Punjab Kings captain said the side kept a simple mindset: “score one more than the opposition”.

“Kudos to KL (Rahul). The way he played was fabulous and pleasing to the eye. In my mind, I was just saying that whatever they get from here on, I think we just have to score one more run and ensure we become victorious,” said Shreyas.

“That was the mindset, nothing more, honestly speaking, because whatever balls the bowlers were bowling at that particular time, I think he was improvising and he
was playing beautiful shots. So it didn’t look like he was trying really hard. I just said to myself that if they can, we can too.”

Praise for Nayar

KKR head coach Abhishek Nayar may be going through a tough phase but Rahul didn’t forget to thank him.

“I was very pleased, very happy at the end of the first 20 overs. It’s something that I’ve been working on for a very long time behind the scenes. Just said this last year as well. I spent a lot of time with Abhishek Nayar,” said Rahul.

“Just to step back a little bit and see where T20 games have gone and what the demand of T20 cricket is in today’s day and age.”

Rahul highlighted six-hitting and early aggression as key areas of improvement.